can greyhound really be that bad????????

i just read throught the post called "greyhound USA, safe or suicide" and now im freaked. i was planning on doing Austin texas - san diego by overnight bus but after reading that post im not to sure if thats death or not. i also am planning on doing vancouver - whistler n back by greyhound and chicago - NYC and LA - whistler all by my self. was thinking overnight bus was a great way to save on accomodation fees but having money in my bank account wont matter if im dead. im 21 n aussie and have grown up with zero crime and just got a bit freaked out. am i crazy in planning to do this - can greyhound really be that bad??????

I had absolutely no problem getting the greyhound around Canada (for your Vancouver- Whistler bit). I don't know about the busses in the US, but in Canada I was on them for several overnight journeys and never felt unsafe at all.

Yes they are a bit dirty and the stations are sort of sketchy (it is a real form of budget travel here in the US!)....but that being said ...I would not worry about safety on the bus. The only thing I would take care of (as you would anywhere), is if you get to the bus stations at early or late hours, be careful of having a plan of where you're going and how you're getting there (taxi, etc.) - don't wander around stations too much. Sometimes they are a little bit outside the city and in more questionable areas. So just plan to take a cab to wherever you're headed. You'll be fine though!

unfortunately greyhound gets a bad wrap because the people who ride it are broke and have no car. even more tragic are these people typicall to be on the ghetto side of society -- not their fault; at least greyhound provides a valuable service to them.

people who dont like greyhound in usa are unaccustomed to being subjected to ghetto situations.

I travelled twice from Wisconsin to the West Coast by Greyhound. It was very cheap and actually a quit fun way to travel...you see/meet so many different kind of people, and you will see the States from a less glossy shiny kind of way. I wouldn't say it is dangerous, but the busstation can be a bit strange...

I would recommend you to stop somewhere for a couple days on your way to Vancouver. Sometimes the bus stopped at 1 a.m. to get cleaned, and everyone had to hang out in a bus station...take your time, because with a grey hound bus ticket you can kind hop-on/hop-off as you like. (but please confirm that, it might have changed)

I liked travelling with Greyhound...it will be a very memorable experience.

you should keep in mind who is writing these things - very few americans are used to "roughing it". they always want first class everything, and McDonald's in every country. I suspect any of those complaining about Greyhound have ever taken public transportation in other countries. The Grey Hound is no less dirty then the public transportation in Paris, and riding the grey hound bus in america felt exactly the same as riding the buses in England between cities. Nicer then those in Nepal, not as nice as Madonna's tour bus

I've done my share of budget travelling as a student and I have tried to save money and take overnight trains/buses when possible. One thing to consider though too, is that overnight buses usually guarentee little or no sleep as some of the buses are milk runs and stop in all the small towns along the way. If you are cool with interrupted sleep, greyhound is the way to go. If not, you may just want to shell out a bit more money for an extra night accomodation. Myself, I realize that getting a good night's sleep is important if I don't want to be grumpy the next day sightseeing. If you're not planning on seeing anything between LA and Vancouver consider flying. www.westjet.com is an awesome discount carrier with great service and I think they fly between vancouver and LA.